The blade of a traditional ice skate is oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boot, and the skater moves forward or backward. The sideways ice skate of the present invention is an alternative to the traditional ice skate. The sideways ice skate comprises the same key elements as the traditional ice skate, but the blade is mounted so as to be substantially nonparallel to the longitudinal axis of the boot (for instance, the blade may be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boot). The skater thus moves sideways.
The device that bears the most similarity to the sideways-moving ice skate is a sideways-moving wheeled device intended primarily for use on pavement or other similar surfaces. The most relevant of these is the Personal Transportation Device for Supporting a User's Foot Having Multiple Transportation Attachments disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,059,613 B2. One of the possible transportation attachments mentioned in the '613 patent is a blade for ice skating. Both with the ice skate embodiment of the '613 patent and with the ice skate of the present invention, the user associates one unit with each foot, and then moves the feet in an oscillating motion for sideways propulsion. However, the transportation devices of the '613 patent interface with the user by means of footboards that support the user's feet, whereas the ice skate of the present invention interfaces with the user by means of a boot, as is the case with most personal transportation devices used for traversing ice surfaces. The boot is functionally different from the footboards because it is conducive to a different range of maneuvers, including advanced and/or aggressive maneuvers that require a high degree of stability and support.